Also author (uncredited) of young-adult novels based on television series, including American Dreams, and for novel series, including "Fearless" and "Camp Confidential."

Sidelights

After graduating from college, Micol Ostow hired on with New York City publisher Simon & Schuster, and her job as editor eventually led to her second career as the author of young-adult novels. Describing her move to author as "a very organic" process in an online interview with NYC24 contributor Catherine Shu, Ostow ex-[Image Not Available]plained that she started as a ghostwriter for novelizations of popular ongoing series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and Fearless, some published under house pseudonyms. From there, Ostow has begun to make her own name known to teen readers; her novels 30 Guys in 30 Days and Westminster Abby appeared in 2005. Praising the first book as "tastefully written," Kliatt contributor Annette Wells added that older teens "will love this cleverly constructed novel" about a college freshman who decides to overcome her shyness by talking to a different guy each day for a month.

Part of the "Students across the Seven Seas" series, Westminster Abby centers around sixteen-year-old Abby, who has been sent to London for the summer by her parents as punishment for lying to them about her boyfriend James. While abroad, Abby meets up with a charming Brit named Ian and strikes up a fun relationship. A quandary arises when James appears in London, hoping to rekindle their relationship despite the fact that he cheated on her: should Abby chose between Ian and James or opt for staying single? "This is as much a travel book as a romance, and for the most part, Ostow does a good job of fitting all the sights, sounds, and smells into the story," commented Ilene Cooper in a Booklist review of Westminster Abby. Catherine Ensley, writing in School Library Journal, also enjoyed the teen read, commenting that while "light in conflict," Ostow's story "will appeal to teens … whose lives are similarly sheltered and somewhat economically privileged."

Citing this material

Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.

Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document.